Support Kathleen Smith
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My sweet cousin, Kathleen, has been diagnosed with a brain tumor. In May of 2017, Kathleen began experiencing unexpected imbalance for about a month before she went to her doctor with a feeling something wasn’t right. It took a few visits to a few different doctors to get some understanding. Finally, in the fall of 2017, just before her 20-year high school reunion, Kathleen received an MRI and was diagnosed with a brain tumor called an acoustic neuroma. As her tumor is quite rare (1 in 100,000), she will need surgery in California by a doctor who specializes in this type of tumor.
For the past two years, Kathleen has gone about her life as normally as she could while hiding the knowledge that she was privately struggling with physical limitations and uncertainty regarding when to undergo brain surgery. She has been quietly living with the tumor in hopes that it would not grow or cause more issues while trying to save funds and minimize the financial impact for future surgery. She has been actively participating in medical therapies to consistently compensate for the symptoms and receiving the best achievable medical care from nurses, doctors, and therapists in her home state. Doctors predicted it would be 5-10 years before the tumor required action.
That changed suddenly in June of 2019. Kathleen woke up one morning and realized she couldn’t hear naturally out of her right ear. It was shocking and without warning. Understanding sound was either absent and distorted. Her own voice caused vibrations of physical pain to the freshly damaged auditory nerve in her right ear. Her left ear, with normal hearing ability, became fatigued from having to hear for both sides. Her right facial nerve began to experience numbness. Her imbalance worsened causing falls. Her doctors immediately placed her on emergency drug therapy to stabilize her symptoms while she prepares to travel to California. If Kathleen continues to live with the tumor, it will eventually cause total hearing loss in her right ear, facial paralysis, and brain stem compression. Although she can still move about on her own with care, after her surgery in California, she will have to re-learn how to walk again as her brain will have different input with the tumor removed.
Kathleen is now faced with the reality that she isn’t able to wait or manage this alone anymore. All funds raised will be applied to transportation/housing and additional medical care that insurance will not cover while she is spending extended time in the hospital for tumor removal surgery and long-term recovery.
Kathleen is a math teacher with a big heart who loves teaching. I remember several years ago when my youngest daughter was struggling with middle school math. Kathleen met us on a rainy school night at the main library downtown just so she could help my daughter with her homework. This summer, that same daughter just graduated from the University of Mississippi, with her last completed college course, Elementary Statistics, a math class. I like to think that it was Kathleen's assistance from years ago that helped my daughter navigate math classes in middle school, high school, and then college.
We come from a large extended Little Rock family as my father is one of eight children. My daughters graduated from the same high school where Kathleen teaches. We grew up with lots of family parties, events, reunions, days of swimming in a lake at our grandfather's cabin, and celebrating holidays together.
With a smile as bright as sunshine, Kathleen was an athlete her entire life and cheerleader at the University of Arkansas. She was a sorority member and led the university business S.A.K.E. her senior year.
One of my fondest memories was from January 2018 when Kathleen, along with her sister Carrie, our cousin Shelley, my sister Lori, and I auditioned for the game show Family Feud as the Smith Family Cousins, all wearing matching sweatshirts that Carrie made the morning of the audition. We made it through all the rounds that day in Little Rock and were selected for the show, but were unable to schedule a taping date. Kathleen participated in the entire audition, never revealing she had just been given her diagnosis a few months earlier. She never wanted anyone to worry about her condition.
As I am an 18-year cancer survivor, I credit my family and friends for helping me with my personal battle through the treatment. I know Kathleen can overcome this medical situation as well. I'm happy to help her out so that she can concentrate on her upcoming surgery and healing instead of worrying about paying additional costs.
Her surgery date is in mid August. The sooner she has surgery and recovers, the sooner she can return home to her family, her pets, her friends, and teaching at the school she loves.
Sincerely
Leslie Smith Doan
For the past two years, Kathleen has gone about her life as normally as she could while hiding the knowledge that she was privately struggling with physical limitations and uncertainty regarding when to undergo brain surgery. She has been quietly living with the tumor in hopes that it would not grow or cause more issues while trying to save funds and minimize the financial impact for future surgery. She has been actively participating in medical therapies to consistently compensate for the symptoms and receiving the best achievable medical care from nurses, doctors, and therapists in her home state. Doctors predicted it would be 5-10 years before the tumor required action.
That changed suddenly in June of 2019. Kathleen woke up one morning and realized she couldn’t hear naturally out of her right ear. It was shocking and without warning. Understanding sound was either absent and distorted. Her own voice caused vibrations of physical pain to the freshly damaged auditory nerve in her right ear. Her left ear, with normal hearing ability, became fatigued from having to hear for both sides. Her right facial nerve began to experience numbness. Her imbalance worsened causing falls. Her doctors immediately placed her on emergency drug therapy to stabilize her symptoms while she prepares to travel to California. If Kathleen continues to live with the tumor, it will eventually cause total hearing loss in her right ear, facial paralysis, and brain stem compression. Although she can still move about on her own with care, after her surgery in California, she will have to re-learn how to walk again as her brain will have different input with the tumor removed.
Kathleen is now faced with the reality that she isn’t able to wait or manage this alone anymore. All funds raised will be applied to transportation/housing and additional medical care that insurance will not cover while she is spending extended time in the hospital for tumor removal surgery and long-term recovery.
Kathleen is a math teacher with a big heart who loves teaching. I remember several years ago when my youngest daughter was struggling with middle school math. Kathleen met us on a rainy school night at the main library downtown just so she could help my daughter with her homework. This summer, that same daughter just graduated from the University of Mississippi, with her last completed college course, Elementary Statistics, a math class. I like to think that it was Kathleen's assistance from years ago that helped my daughter navigate math classes in middle school, high school, and then college.
We come from a large extended Little Rock family as my father is one of eight children. My daughters graduated from the same high school where Kathleen teaches. We grew up with lots of family parties, events, reunions, days of swimming in a lake at our grandfather's cabin, and celebrating holidays together.
With a smile as bright as sunshine, Kathleen was an athlete her entire life and cheerleader at the University of Arkansas. She was a sorority member and led the university business S.A.K.E. her senior year.
One of my fondest memories was from January 2018 when Kathleen, along with her sister Carrie, our cousin Shelley, my sister Lori, and I auditioned for the game show Family Feud as the Smith Family Cousins, all wearing matching sweatshirts that Carrie made the morning of the audition. We made it through all the rounds that day in Little Rock and were selected for the show, but were unable to schedule a taping date. Kathleen participated in the entire audition, never revealing she had just been given her diagnosis a few months earlier. She never wanted anyone to worry about her condition.
As I am an 18-year cancer survivor, I credit my family and friends for helping me with my personal battle through the treatment. I know Kathleen can overcome this medical situation as well. I'm happy to help her out so that she can concentrate on her upcoming surgery and healing instead of worrying about paying additional costs.
Her surgery date is in mid August. The sooner she has surgery and recovers, the sooner she can return home to her family, her pets, her friends, and teaching at the school she loves.
Sincerely
Leslie Smith Doan
Organizer and beneficiary
Leslie Dianne
Organizer
Little Rock, AR
Kathleen Smith
Beneficiary
